Rural Entrepreneurship Newsletter February 2011

National Entrepreneurship Week - February 19-26, 2011
The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education has created a webpage to capture all the great projects and events that are happening during National Entrepreneurship week - www.entre-week.org Each state has its own page. If you are planning activities, we encourage you to include them on the site. If you are looking for ideas, check out what's happening in states all across the country. Most importantly, join the celebration of entrepreneurship in the US!

Startup America

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out a plan for winning the future by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building the rest of the world. Last week, the White House held a number of events to focus on innovation, and how the US can create the jobs and industries of the future by investing in the creativity and imagination of the American people. The White House also announced the launch of "Startup America," a national campaign to help America achieve these goals by promoting high-growth entrepreneurship across the country with new initiatives to help encourage private sector investment in job-creating startups and small firms, accelerate research, and address barriers to success for entrepreneurs and small businesses. To learn more about the initiative, click here. To view the live launch of the initiative, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/live

e2 Training Goes Online!

Craig Schroeder, with the RUPRI Center, will present a three-part webinar series on Energizing Entrepreneurs (e2) this spring. Participants are strongly encouraged to register for all three sessions to gain the full benefit of this training and successfully apply it in their work. The first session is a foundational introduction to entrepreneurship, and the development and support of local entrepreneurs as the bedrock of effective economic development. Participants will have an opportunity to relate the session content to their own community's support of entrepreneurs. The second session digs into strategies for supporting entrepreneurs within an Entrepreneurial Development System (EDS) approach, including youth engagement, to nurture entrepreneurial talent and growth within a community or region. The session will help participants create a resource team of local and regional partners to support their work with entrepreneurs. The third session is focused on steps for successfully mobilizing an EDS, and builds upon the previous session content and activities. Upon completing this session, participants will have the basic resources and knowledge to implement an EDS in their community or region. Participants who register for the webinar series will receive an e2 Resource Toolkit in addition to the PowerPoint handouts for each session. For information on dates, cost and registration, please email Craig at craig@e2mail.org.

Southern Growth Policies Board 2011 Innovators Awards
Each year, Southern Growth Policies Board honors innovative Southern initiatives that are improving economic opportunities and quality of life in the region. The 2011 Innovator Awards will recognize private sector businesses in the South that have achieved success through the adoption of innovative manufacturing practices. Through this year's awards program, Southern Growth hopes to showcase manufacturers who have redefined their businesses and adopted new technologies and/or processes in order to compete effectively in a rapidly globalizing world. To learn more about qualifying criteria and to nominate a business, go to http://www.southerngrowth.com/innovators/innovators2011_criteria.html

Growing Entrepreneurs, Growing Jobs

Signs of economic recovery are growing, but America's unemployment rate remains near 9% and under-employment is an even greater challenge. Communities, states and the Federal Government are all focusing on how to stimulate the creation of new employment. Don Macke with the Center has a new keynote speech and workshop focusing on how communities, regions and states can GROW JOBS by GROWING ENTREPRENEURS. For more information on this resource, contact Don at don@e2mail.org.

New Publications from Wealth Creation in Rural Communities

What do we mean by "community wealth" and how would we know it if we saw it? In Measuring Community Wealth, real world data from Appalachian Kentucky is used to illustrate how examples of six forms of wealth (individual, intellectual, natural, built, social, and financial) can be measured. From power plants to patents, local food to locally owned broadband, each section highlights opportunities to increase the stock of wealth in Kentucky counties. For a more in-depth understanding of how multiple types of capital were assessed for this paper, Measuring Community Wealth: Appendices provides detailed analysis of the data from Appalachian Kentucky.